Adrien “The Problem” Broner announced Saturday that he will begin the task of rebuilding his stock on October 3, against an opponent yet to be determined. Broner, a three-division champion, lost his last fight to Shawn “Showtime” Porter on NBC. The loss was the second of his young career, but more damaging to Broner because his out-of-the-ring antics have made him unpopular with fans.
These 3 potential opponents would make good rebound fights, and also help Broner maintain his status with boxing fans who many not like him, but believe his talent is upper tier.
Lamont Peterson (33-3-1, 17 KO)
Peterson is coming off of his own loss to Danny “Swift” Garcia in a fight that had no title implications even though they were both champions. Peterson looked better than Garcia for most of the fight, but lost because of a lack of aggression early on that allowed Garcia to steal early rounds by being more active, if not more effective.
Peterson is a name that fans know and respect, yet he doesn’t have major punching power or the pressure style that has twice made Broner look bad. Peterson prefers to box from the outside, and Broner likes to ease into fights before letting combinations go as the rounds wear on. If Peterson allows Broner to get into his rhythm, Broner may remind folks why the boxing world was so high on him once upon a time.
Ruslan Provodnikov (24-4-0, 17 KO)
This is realistic in the sense that Provodnikov’s camp would jump at the chance, but it is highly unlikely that Broner’s camp would put him in there with a killer like “The Siberian Rocky.” Provodnikov’s style is the definition of what has troubled Broner in his two losses, but Provodnikov is also eminently hittable. If Broner committed to defense in his training camp, and unlocked the cheat code to using his incredibly fast hands to counter-punch, he may be able to do what Chris Algieri did in June 2014.
When Timothy Bradley was at his least popular, fighting and beating Provodnikov flipped the script. This would be an opportunity for Broner to change the conversation about him, but it’s a highly risky fight that could bury him for good too.
Rances Barthelemy (23-0-0, 13 KO)
Barthelemy is an undefeated prospect coming off his most important win, a June unanimous decision over Antonio Demarco, a common opponent with Broner. While Barthelemy is promising, he is not a big name. Facing him allows Broner to remain the A-side--which his ego and accomplishments likely require—but also give Broner a quality opponent instead of an obviously easy tune-up. After two losses with his relevance in decline, there’s little upside these days in Broner fighting tailor-made opponents.
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